Fastening for horseshoes



(No Model.)

' E. T. GOVELL.

FASTENING FOR HORSBSHOES.

. No.4413940. Patented Dec 2, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD T. COVELL, OF NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

'FASTENING FOR HORSESHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 441,940, dated December2, 1890.

'Application filed June 11, 1890. Serial No. 355,024. (No model.)

ToaZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD 'l. CovELL, of New Bedford, county ofBristol, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inFastenings for Horseshoes, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likeletters on the drawings representing like parts.

The object of my invention is to provide means for fastening shoes tothe hoofs of horses without using nails, the said fastenings being easyto apply, of nnobjectionable appearance, and holding the shoes securelyin place so that they cannot be cast oft. The fastening consists,essentially, of a wire or band engaged with the heel end of the shoe andpassing diagonally up over the sides of the hoof, with which it isengaged by a suitablev seat or support adapted to have a firm frictionalhold upon the surface of the hoof, the said wire then extending forwardand downward and being connected with the toe end of the shoe andprovided with a straining device by which it may be drawn up tight, soas to hold the shoe securely, and may subsequently be relaxed, ifrequired, to effect the removal of the shoe. vice is herein shown asconsisting of a lever fulcrumed in a projection formed at or 0011-nected with the toe endof the shoe in such manner that by turning thelever on its fulcrum from one to the other position it tightens orslackens the wire, which is shown as passed through an eye or openingnear the free end of the lever. Vhen the lever has been turned totighten the wire, the strain of the latter retains the lever in thisposition until forcibly moved therefrom by a suitable tool.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a horses hoof having a shoe appliedthereto by a fastening device embodying this invention; Fig. 2, a frontelevation of the hoof; Fig. 3, a detail showing in side elevation thelever-engaging projection or fulcrum-piece at the fore end of the shoe;Fig. 4, a detail showing the tightening-lever in front elevationenlarged; Fig. .5, aside elevation of one of the wire-support The saidstraining de-' ing seats used at the side of the hoof, and Fig. 6 adetail showing one of the rear ends of the shoe in end elevation.

The shoe a may be of usual shape and material, being exactly like theordinary shoe, except that it need not have the usual nailholes, and isprovided at its rear ends with means for engaging the fastening-wire,being shown in this instance as having holes bored longitudinally intoit to receive the bent ends 0 of the fastening-wire b.

The fastening device consists, mainly, of a continuous piece of stoutwire I), the ends b of which are engaged with the rear ends of the shoe,the said wire being long enough to extend around the hoof from one rearend to the other rear end of the shoe. At each side of the hoof the saidwire is engaged with a seat or support 0, (shown in this instance as apronged stud,) provided with a passage through which the wire isthreaded, the prongs of said stud making a frictional engagement withthe side of the hoof without penetrating the same to any great extent,and preventing the portion of the wire from slipping down along thesides of the hoof, the holding power depending largely upon the naturalinclination of the sides of the hoof, as shown in Fig. 2, and increasingwith the increased strain on the wire. The forward end of the wire I) isconnected with the fore part of the So shoe through the intervention ofa straining device which tightens the wire and thus draws the shoeconnected with it at forward and rear ends up snugly against the bottomof the hoof and holds it there securely. The 8 5 said connecting andstraining device, as shown in this instance, consists of a short 1ever(1, provided with a fulcrum-pin (1 that engages with a suitable fulcrumprojection 6 (see Fig. 3) at the forward end of the shoe, the saidprojection being shown in this instance as a tongue extending up alongthe fore end of the hoof and turned downward to make ahooklike seat forthe fulcrum-pin d The wire I) is shown in this instance as passingthrough 5 an eye or opening formed in the end of the lever (1, althoughit might be otherwise connected therewith, if preferred, as by asuitable notch or shoulder formed in the said 1e ver to receive it.

In applying the shoe the fastening-wire 11, having the lever 01 andseat-pieces a threaded on it, is first carried around the hoof andengaged at its bent ends 11 with the rear ends of the shoe, which isthen placed in proper position against the bottom of the hoof, with theprojection e against the front of the hoof. The lever 01, when indotted-line position, Fig. 1, is then engaged with a fulcrum-piece e, asshown, the wire being somewhat slack in this position, and theseat-pieces c are engaged wit-l1 the sides of the hoof at some distanceabove the direct line from the heel ends I) to the fastening-lever (Z,the slackness of the wire permitting them to be carried up to asufficient heightto give-the desired tightness and holding power whenthe wire is subsequently tightened. The tightening is effected byturning the lever cl on its fulcrum from the dotted to the full lineposition, which, as will be readily seen, tightens the wire and at thesame time brings the strain of the wire on the lever cl, below thefulcrum, tending to hold the said lever tightly in place against thefront side of the fulcrum-proj ection, so that it cannot be accidentallydislodged.

The position of the end of the lever d with relation to the end of thehole is such that it cannot strike on any stone or projection in the useof the shoe in such way as to turn the lever back so as to loosen thefastenin A slight space is left between the under face of the lever cland the outer face of the projection 6 at the end of the lever toreceive a tool such as a screw-driver or the handle of a pair ofplie-rsby which the said lever can be turned back when itis necessary tounfasten and remove the shoe, and as it is desirable that the wireshould be strained very tightly the lever is usually turned intoposition by the employment of a pair of pliers or a suitably-shapedWrench that gives the operator sufficient leverage to turn the same.

The herein-described fastening holds the shoe firmly and securely to thehoof, and can be quickly applied and removed without requiring especialskill or the use of special tools, and is thus a great convenience whenit'is desired to change shoes, as in icy weather, and it also has agreat advantage as a permanent fastening, it being impossible to injurethe foot of the horse in applying the same, and the fastening being oflight weight and neat appearance when applied.

By having a band which is connected with the heel end of the shoe at oneside of the hoof, extends diagonally upward therefrom, and is engagedwith the side of the hoof at some distance above the shoe, and extendsdiagonally downward from said point of engagement, and is connected withthe toe end of the shoe, such arrangement being used at each side of theshoe and hoof, the'eifect of applying tensile strain to such band ismerely to draw the shoe directly up against the bottom of the 1100f, theweightof the shoe being borne from the point of engagement at the sidesof the hoof, substantially the same as when the shoe is fastened bynails; but if the band were merely passed from the heel end of the shoeforward and upward around the hoof the strain on said band would tend toslide the shoe forward on the hoof instead of to draw it directlyagainst the hoof, as is the case with a band applied as hereindescribed.

The invention is not limited to the specific construction shown of themeans of connecting the wire with the heel and toe ends of the shoe andfor engaging the same with the sides of the hoof above the shoe andstraining the wire, as the construction of these parts can be variedwithout materially changing the nature and mode of operation of thefastening.

The fulcrum-piece a may be formed with the shoe or may be formed as aseparatepiece having a dovetailed foot to enter a dovetailed socket inthe shoe, or it may be riveted or otherwise fastened thereto in anysuitable manner.

The lever d is shown as provided with a small socket 61 which serves toreceive a stud or projection formed on the jaw of the pinch ers, bywhich the lever is turned down.

I claim 1. A fastening for a horseshoe, comprising a wire or bandconnected with the heel end of the shoe at each side thereof, extendingupward therefrom andengaged with the sides of the hoof above the shoeand extended down from said points of engagement with the hoof andconnected with the toe end of the shoe, combined with a straining devicefor tightening said band, whereby the shoe is drawn tightly up againstthe bottom of the hoof, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a horseshoe provided with a fulcrum-piece atits fore end, of a fastening-wire engaged with said horseshoe at therear end, seats for supporting the said Wire upon the sides of the hoof,and a straining-lever engaged with said wire and with the fulcrum-pieceat the fore end of the shoe, substantially as and for the purposedescribed. I

3. The combination of the band adapted to be connected with a horseshoeat the heel and toe ends, with seats or supports for engaging the saidband, provided with projections to make frictional connection with thesides of the hoof, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a horseshoe, of a fastening-band connected withthe heel end of the shoe at each side thereof, extending upwardtherefrom and engaged with the sides of the hoof above the shoe andextended down from said points of engagement with the hoof toward theshoe at the front thereof, name to this specification in the presence ofcombined with astraining-lever havingitsfultwo subscribing witnesses.crnm on the shoe and being engaged with the T 7 said band for tighteningthe same in engage- ARD 5 ment with the shoe and hoof, substantially\Vitnesses:

as described. J 0s. P; LIVERMORE, In testimony whereof I have signed myJ AS. J. MALONEY.

